1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to exercise machines for pectoral muscle development.
2. Prior Art
Many different exercises are employed to exercise the chest and arms. The main types of exercises are (but not limited to); Bench Press, Dumbbell Flyes, Pec Deck, Dips, Pushups, and Cable Crossover.
The bench press and similarly pushups and dips, involve primarily the chest, triceps, and shoulder muscles. However, the chest muscles are involved mainly in that part of the motion where the weight is close to the users' chest. As the weight is moved upward and away from the chest, the triceps and shoulder muscles take over to complete the motion, essentially eliminating pectoral involvement.
Currently, the bench press is accomplished with either free weights or various machines designed to simulate the natural articulation of the arm and shoulder joints of a user with free weights. Utilizing the bench press with free weights a user can target upper, mid, and lower areas of the pectoral muscles by employing incline, flat, and decline movements respectively. A user can also target inner and outer areas of the pectoral muscles by varying the width of the hands as they grip a barbell. However, each targeted area requires a different positioning of the user. Therefore each targeted area must be addressed one at a time. Furthermore, in a typical press, the direction of the force applied by the user is static, typically in one direction, directly away from the user's chest.
Cable and dumbbell flyes provide resistance mainly in the early stages and diminishes as the arms move upward. This is improved somewhat with cable-flyes.
The pec deck provides resistance throughout the entire movement. However, use of this machine can over time cause shoulder problems for some individuals due to hyper-abduction of the shoulder.